The head of NATO recently stated that Russia has suffered over 300,000 battlefield casualties since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but warned that despite suffering significant losses in terms of aircraft, tanks, and troops, Russia possesses a remarkable resilience towards casualties.
“As Ukraine has moved forward, Russia has fallen backward. It is now weaker politically, militarily, and economically”, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers on 29 November.
“Politically, Russia is losing influence in its near abroad. Not only in Ukraine, but in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Russia is also becoming much more dependent on China. Year by year, Moscow is mortgaging its future to Beijing. Militarily, Russia has lost a substantial part of its conventional forces. Hundreds of aircraft. Thousands of tanks. And more than 300,000 casualties.”
Stoltenberg went on to say that it was crucial not to underestimate Russia, as its economy is currently operating as if it is at war. Putin has shown to have a high tolerance for casualties, and their objectives in Ukraine remain unchanged. Furthermore, Russia has accumulated a vast arsenal of missiles in preparation for winter. In addition, new attempts have been made to attack Ukraine’s power grid and energy infrastructure, with the aim of leaving the country in darkness and cold.
The UK minister of state for the armed forces, James Heappey, recently revealed the UK’s estimates of losses faced by Vladimir Putin since the start of the invasion in February last year.
“We estimate that approximately 302,000 Russian military personnel have been killed or wounded, and tens of thousands more have already deserted since the start of the conflict.”
“We also estimate that over 7,117 Russian armoured vehicles, including nearly 2,475 main battle tanks, 93 fixed wing aircraft, 132 helicopters, 320 unmanned aerial vehicles, 16 naval vessels of all classes, and over 1,300 artillery systems of all types have been destroyed since the start of the conflict,” he said.
UK and NATO estimates of Russian casualties is similar to the assessment made by Kyiv, which said Russia had lost a total of 313,470 military personnel in combat as of 14 November.
